Alone
by Celina Corey
Summary: Fred Weasley actually had a girlfriend during the Final Battle; but how did she react to his death? And what's her secret? A SHORT STORY


**Author's Note:** Alright...you caught me! I know I'm supposed to editing _Forgotten Memories_, but the muse came to me and I had to answer! Anyways, I wrote this when I was supposed to be doing other things, but we won't tell anybody that...right?

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the _Harry Potter_ content in this story; all rights belong to J.K. Rowling. I do, however, own the character Mariana. She's purely OC.

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Though he was eternally gone, she would not allow herself to weep more. Her tears had fallen, her heart broken. She could still hear his laugh and smell his scent on her skin. She could almost feel his arms around her, protecting her from the battle raging miles away. But she knew fate would not bless her with a gift such as that. She knew that fate had robbed them of their chance of a life together.

She wondered if his family knew yet, for they hadn't had the means of knowing that she did. And even if they did, had they the time to mourn as she had? Unlike she, they were in the midst of it all. They were in company of blood and anger and hatred…death. Merlin, how many others? Would this damned war end and leave them all to peace? She hated not knowing, it was worse than knowing. She'd even told him so when he had made her stay behind.

"_Mariana, you _cannot_ go."_

_She stood her ground, "I _can_ and I _will_."_

"_No."_

"_I'm going and there is nothing you can do to convince me otherwise."_

"_If you think, for one second, I am going let you go and battle in your current state…you're mental."_

_She laughed, "Mental: I may be, but a coward: I am not."_

"_You think I'm coward for not letting you go? You're--__"_

_She cut him off, "I know very well what I am! But I'm not going to let it make me turn my back on you!"_

"_You think if you don't go, you're turning your back on me?"_

"_You…Harry…you're family…everyone! If I don't go--"_

"_You'll be safe."_

"_Then stay with me. Be safe with me."_

"_Mariana, you know I have to go…"_

"_Who says? Who says you can't stay and be safe? With me?"_

"_I have to go."_

_She desperately fought back her tears, "But I hate not knowing…What if you-- What if the worst happens?"_

"_Then I hope you'll always remember how much I love you."_

_She nearly screamed her anger, "But how will I know?! Am I supposed to just sit around here and wait? Wait, and hope to Merlin you come back? I'm not that type of woman, Fred, and you know that!"_

_He sighed, nearing defeat, but then his eyes lit up with an idea. He grabbed a shell from the sand and picked it up, pointed his wand at it and muttered a spell, then he handed it to her and said, "Here. This way, you'll know. If I get hurt, the shell will crack. If…," and he trailed off as if he couldn't say it, "Should the worst happen, it will crumble into pieces. This way, you'll know."_

_She wiped tears from her cheeks, "It won't be the same."_

_He held her tight, "It's the best I can offer you. I won't let you go, but _I _have to."_

"_I love you, Fred. Don't you dare forget that."_

_He kissed her forehead, "I love you too. If I come back, I'll marry you. I promise you, I will."_

"When_," she asserted, "Not _if_…when."_

"_Alright…when I come back, I'll marry you and give you all that you ever wanted."_

_She smiled, "But I have all I ever wanted…I have you."_

Silent tears poured down her cheeks now, though each tear making her more furious. She would not cry! She would be strong and would not falter. She had to be, or all they'd worked so hard for would have been in vain. No matter what memories may plague her, she would not break and would honor what he had asked of her: She would always remember how much he loved her.

But it was a strange feeling, for mere hours ago he was alive and well. And they were arguing. But then they were fine again, lost in fantasies of what might have been. But now she was here, alone in the world while his family and friends were fighting the most important battle in wizarding history. For her, time stood still; the hands on the clock had stopped moving, just as they had so many nights ago.

She did not regret what happened, nor did she suspect he did. The act had been passionate and so full of emotion that it still brought tears to her eyes. And when she woke the next the morning, he was gone, off to run his business, and she was alone. She had felt lonely then, but now she truly realized what lonely meant. No longer was there someone to hold her, to love her. But that wasn't entirely true. She knew, that for the rest of her life she would have the love of the child they'd created together and so she would be loved. But that child, she would have to raise on her own. His family would help her of course, she knew they would, but in the state of raising a child with the love of your life she would be alone.

She sighed and, with one last glance at the ocean ahead of her, headed back into the ugly solitude of Shell Cottage. She made herself some tea, which she filled with a hearty amount of Firewhiskey, knowing that she shouldn't, and upon finishing it, went to bed. That night, she dreamed.

_She was standing in an abundance of clouds, a light breeze blowing her hair. All around her was white, but for some reason she was overcome with discomfort_. _It was both hot and cold. The air was both light and heavy. There was love and hate, fear and courage. It was a world of opposites and it made her uneasy. It seemed as if all things that could not possibly exist together, did in fact exist together in this clouded area. Suddenly, before her, the mass of white broke and a shadowy figure stepped forth. Instantly, the world became more unbearable and she knew that now both life and death existed together._

_The figure came closer and closer still. It seemed to take an eternity with each step calling out the beats of her heart. And finally when the figure was within mere feet of her, it shifted. To her great astonishment, the figure looked exactly like Fred. Both her heart and her breathing stopped for a fraction of time and then she realized there was no time, only existence, in this small enclosure._

_The figure of Fred looked at her curiously and tilted his head as though to perceive her reasoning for being there and then, suddenly, his eyes lit up knowingly and he smiled. Desperately, she waited for him to speak but his voice did not come. They stood there for minutes, hours maybe, in complete silence. Without warning, another figure appeared out of smoke beside him but this was the figure of a little girl. She was smiling and was, undoubtedly, a Weasley. Fred looked to the girl and smiled, then returned his gaze to Mariana. He winked and then the two figures shuddered and became one. Bright light engulfed the area and she could not see. She tried to yell for Fred, to tell him not go but her voice was lost in her throat. When, finally, the light subsided, the only figure left standing was that of the little girl. She smiled at Mariana, winked and then walked back through where the figure of Fred had come. And it was then that Mariana woke._

She opened her eyes and sat up in the bed, the sound of waves crashing against rocks engulfing her ears. The sudden noise deafened her for moments, but then she was once again able to hear. As far as she could tell, there were no other people in Shell Cottage. Walking from the room in silence, she left the confines of Shell Cottage to stand by the sea once more. And, looking out at the waves, she pondered her dream. What had it meant? Then she smiled, for it was then that she realized that she would never truly be alone. As long as she had the child that was growing inside of her, she would never be alone. And it was for this reason that Fred had joined her in her dream.

**THE END**

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**P.S. Go check out my website! Just click the _homepage_ button on my profile and it will take you to it! Sorry, though, I haven't gotten this story up there quite yet. I'm working on it. Also, sometime soon, I will have banners for the stories on the website, so keep checking to see them! I'm not sure when though, it all depends on when the person who is making them gets done with them!**


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